Concept
media-centric
A view that grants media and communication autonomy and influence of their own and treats media as a driver of social change (McQuail).
On McQuail’s two-axis map, media-centric theory attributes much more autonomy and influence to communication and concentrates on the media’s own sphere of activity. It sees the media as a primary mover in social change, pushed forward especially by developments in communication technology, and pays more attention to the content and possible consequences of different kinds of media (print, audiovisual, interactive).
Its opposite is the society-centric view. Together with the culturalist or materialist axis they yield four perspectives. To avoid mixing them up in an exam: the media-centric one treats the media as an independent force.
Example
A study of how the structure of a new medium (television, say) changes social relations regardless of content.